Preview: Long-Delayed New Yalu River Bridge Between China and North Korea to Open October 15
DANDONG — The long-delayed New Yalu River Bridge between China and North Korea will open on October 15, China's state news agency Xinhua reported on October 14, adding that the two sides will jointly hold an opening ceremony. Reuters carried the report on October 14. GSM will publish follow-up coverage on the day of the opening.
The New Yalu River Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge linking Dandong, in China's Liaoning province, with Sinuiju in North Korea. It is about 3 kilometers (roughly 1.9 miles) long, with a main span of 636 meters, and carries four lanes of road traffic.
The bridge has been delayed for years. China completed its side in 2014, but on the North Korean side the approach roads and customs facilities were left unfinished as relations soured over Pyongyang's nuclear tests and the United Nations sanctions that followed, leaving the bridge idle.
On the trade backdrop: China's exports to North Korea rose to a six-year high of $2.3 billion in 2025, up 25% from the previous year, though the figure remains well below levels seen before U.N. sanctions were tightened in 2017.
(Source: Xinhua, October 14, as reported by Reuters on October 14)
Source: Xinhua
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 中朝新鸭绿江大桥（2016年摄），Ajew 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0（Wikimedia Commons）
